Blogging

Newest occupational hazard: Death by blogging

I’ve been waking up every morning for a week with a stiff neck. A tendon in my left wrist still aches, despite four months of doctor’s appointments and three different prescriptions. My massage therapist says the muscles in my back are so tight that she uses every muscle in her own hands, shoulders and legs… Read More

Blog comments position you as an expert, pull traffic

Here’s proof that spending fewer than 15 minutes a day posting comments to other people’s blogs is well worth it. I’ve set up a Google Alert for several keywords or keyword phrases related to my area of expertise. I’ve trained my virtual assistant to go through the emails Google sends me, read the blog postings and let me know… Read More

Write better blog posts and never run out of content

If I had to choose only one strategy that would help Publicity Hounds pull more traffic to their websites, establish themselves as experts, build a loyal following and sell more products and services, I’d choose blogging—without hesitation. This blog is on track to pull in more than 20,000 unique visitors this month alone. Not all of… Read More

When bloggers ask for free products, be generous

When a blogger asks you for a free copy of your book, ebook, CD or other product, resist the urge to say, “If you want it bad enough, buy it.” You wouldn’t say that to a journalist who called asking to review your book, or a music reviewer who called asking for your new CD to review,… Read More

Publicity plan should target blogs and ezines

Don’t miss this critical step when creating your publicity plan. Start adding bloggers and editors of electronic newsletters (ezines) to the list of people who you will contact if you want publicity. If you’re a publicist, and your PR client is adamant about getting coverage in top-tier media like USA Today, The New York Times,… Read More

Best blogs for writers

Authors, writers and bloggers, do I have a treat for you! If you write press releases, bios, articles, books, White Papers, blog posts, or even something as simple as a daily journal, you’ll love the cool list “Best Blogs for Writers.” Michelle Vranizan Rafter, a long-time journalist and freelancer, compiled it after asking freelance, newspaper and magazine writers… Read More

PR types don’t understand how consumers use media

When consumers want to buy a flat-screen TV, take a vacation to a place where they’ve never been, or see a movie at the local theater, who do they turn to for advice? Their friends, family and experts. Yet only one in four communications professionals have a word-of-mouth program in place. An article in the February… Read More

How can a blogger become a paid newspaper columnist?

Kelly Moore of Des Moines, Iowa writes: “I have been the number-one ‘community’ (just a fancy way of saying ‘unpaid’) blogger for a local magazine in our city for more than a year. The magazine is owned by our city’s daily newspaper. Consequently, I was able to find out that my page-views not only outshine… Read More

Press release faux pas of the day–and my blogging boo-boo

In the old days, when we screwed up a press release with an embarrassing typo, it was bad enough that we had to humiliate ourselves in front of journalists. Today, it’s a lot worse. Journalists are blogging. And they’re exposing our boo-boos to the whole world in blog posts like this one from a Baltimore Sun reporter.… Read More